Legal construction of 'public interest' in the context of critical raw materials

Screening for Sustainability seminar - “Legal construction of 'public interest' in the context of critical raw materials”

Sanja Bogojević, Fellow and Professor of Law at Lady Margaret Hall and the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford

This talk examines how “public interest” is being reshaped in the EU internal market, using the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) as a case study. Traditionally, public interest in the internal market context has been framed as a balance between free movement and national justifications such as environmental protection. The CRMA signals a shift by prioritising secure and sustainable access to critical raw materials as an EU-level objective. In doing so, it elevates industrial resilience and supply chain security into core elements of the public interest. This raises questions about the continuing role of traditional public interest priorities, and the internal market, more generally.

The seminar will consist of 20-30 minutes presentation, followed by a discussion.

This seminar is made possible by generous contributions from the Centre for European Studies at Lund University and the Lund University Human Rights Profile Area.